Festweisse (TAP 4) (-2022)

Notes from June 2010 bottle code: 09-111 1-3 0107 2722(huh?) Can't quite pull off a perfect pour just yet. Still a bit shaky, need a couple beers in me first to get the subtle tilt & bottle turn. A couple inches of popmarked, off-white head into a standard weiss glass. Color is an orange honey mix, unfortunately cloudy, but still inviting. Smells starchy & subtly sweet, like good potato bread. Melon rind, unripe peaches, all that good stuff. Nothing overly pronounced or fresh or bold, which is disappointing. Lemon & a touch of staleness just barely come in at the end. First sip is quite tasty! Honey wheat bread & lots of banana & soft floral aspects. Barely a hint of clove, which usually seems to become more predominate in wheat beers as they get older. No pepper that I notice either. Quiet, lettuce-y hops that close out a touch sharp. Creamy & light on carbonation. A bit too thick & filling to drink a pitcher of, even on a hot afternoon. Alcohol goes unnoticed. One of the better hefes I've had, & that's saying a lot, considering it's organic & probably several months old. :)

July 2010: 500 ml bottle, as Schneider Weisse Tap 4 Mein Grünes, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Brewed with organic ingredients. ABV is 6.2%. Hazy brownish golden colour, big head, slightly off-white. Strong and lovely aroma of ripe bananas and cloves. Soft mouthfeel. The flavour is reasonably malty for a hefeweizen, with distinct notes of cloves. Very moderate hops. The alcohol is well hidden. Good beer.

Festi

Here's an interesting lesson in beer tasting. When I first poured this, I noted that the aroma was rather smoky. No way, I thought, this isn't a smoked beer, is it? But for sure there I was smelling campfire, even smoked sausage. Sure it wasn't as pronounced as you might find in a traditional rauchbier, but there it was. So then I finally got around to a sip, and first noticed the pleasing melanoidin malts, light wheat graininess, and overall balance. But smoke flavor? Not really. But I started tuning in on some phenols, they were mild, thankfully (because I've lost my taste for overly phenolic beers). But what were these phenols? They were the barest hint of bandaid and burnt rubber. And thats when it clicked - what I smelled in this beer wasn't smoke at all, it was burnt rubber phenolic. So as I kept alternating between sniffing and tasting, the campfire thing disappeared entirely in favor of the phenols. This wasn't bad, it was just interesting and an instructional in the effects of top-down processing on beer sampling. Otherwise a good balanced zesty hefeweizen with the presence of caramelized malts. Cloudy, a tad darker than most hefes. Mildly voluminous head (perhaps not as large as many in this style).

uus 6% voline versioon. suht klassikaline nisukas, aga veits humalane ja nats alkone, õrn räpane noot on ka. ok, schneiderilt ootaks enamat.

Bottle at home picked up from HOTM. A hazed deep oranage coloured pour with a beige froth that fades. Aroma is nice, bubble gum, toasted wheat, hint of toffee, orange twist, gooey banna bread. Flavour is composed of semi sweet, hint of toffee, bubblegum, toasted wheat, light vanilla, spicy hop in the finish. Really nice calssic hefe ueast profile, spicy finish. Palate is semi sweet, rounded, prickly carbonation, Nice characterful Hefe.